Broken Dreams(172)

“Just do what you are told.” She reached into the back seat and pulled out his guitar. She pulled the strap over her neck and shoulder. “Open up!” Claire was beyond excited.

He pulled his hands down. His jaw slacked, and his eyes looked to have grown to the size of baseballs. He stood there in shock, looking at Claire.

“Well? What do you think?”

“I…I…Claire…” Nick whispered. His eyes filled with tears. Claire took off the guitar and set it back in the truck.

“Nick…I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I thought that you would be happy to have your guitar back.”

It took him a minute to speak. “I can’t believe you would risk your life over a guitar. That wasn’t the best idea, Claire,” Nick scolded. It upset her because she thought he would be happy about it. Hot tears burned her cold cheeks.

“I just wanted to bring you a little happiness after all that you have gone through.”

“You could have gotten yourself and everyone with you killed!”

“Don’t you think I know that? I realized it was a mistake after we got there.” The situation with David Tasker popped into her head again. Chills ran down her spine. She looked down at her shoes. Nick knew what Claire had done was from her heart so he grabbed her shoulders.

“Listen. This is the most amazing thing anyone has ever done for me. I can’t thank you enough. I’m just overwhelmed with emotion, and the idea that you could have been killed over something for me…” He could barely croak out the words before the tears poured down his cheeks, collecting in the stubble on his face.

Claire smiled at him. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. He placed his forehead against hers, and she was drawn into his bright emerald green eyes. They were so much more mesmerizing than his original baby blues.

“I just wanted to do something nice for you. I know how much you loved that guitar, and I always loved listening to you play.” Nick kissed her. She smiled against his lips. She pulled away and grabbed the guitar again. He took it from her hands, ran his fingers over the strings, and smiled. To see him genuinely happy made Claire’s heart skip a beat.

“This was really stupid, Claire,” Nick said, smiling. “Really fucking stupid.”

“I know.”



***



“Will you two love birds cut the shit and help us unload this beast?!”

I stood there smiling, full of my usual attitude. Claire blushed. She hurried to the back of the truck and grabbed the next box of goods.





Chapter 29





A





bout a week had passed. All the boxes and bags were lined up in the entryway. Henry’s and Nick’s clothes were a community grab bag. We picked a couple things out here and there, but we didn’t want to unpack the supplies quite yet. Not until we figured out what our plans were.

Henry sat at the dining room table, pouring over the maps, trying to pick a route to get down to Gunther in North Carolina. The winter weather was coming in hard and fast. The temperatures had dropped significantly over the past few days. He was becoming desperate, worrying over the coming weather.

“We can’t travel through Pennsylvania,” he said. “There’s no way. The highway has to be torn up. It always is. There has to be insane traffic congestion. I say we go through New Jersey.”

“I say you’re stupid. What if a nor’easter blows through and we get stuck somewhere? We can’t risk that!” Nick was getting extremely frustrated. “The best way is through Pennsylvania,” he exclaimed as he tapped the map.

“But the highway will be congested!”

“We need to stay inland, Henry!”

“In case you have forgotten, it snows in Pennsylvania, too.”

They sounded like kids bickering. I walked up to them and stood behind Henry. “Am I going to have to put you two in separate corners?” They both glowered at me. “Umm…okay. Well, I’ll just go back to my womanly duties then.” I headed back into the kitchen and helped Claire fix everyone something to eat…which meant that we popped open a few jars and opened another box of crackers. We pulled out a pouch of jerky from our stash, as well.

“They are getting a little grumpy out there,” Claire said in a hushed tone.

“Yeah. I think it’s time for another fix.” I rolled my eyes.

“It’s Thomas’ turn.” Claire looked down at her arm, the bruising from her last draw still evident. Embarrassed, she tugged her sleeve down. I walked into the family room, and Thomas was cozied up by the fireplace, thumbing through an old magazine.

“Thomas, after you eat, the bitchy men out there need some.” I nodded my head toward the dining room. He got up and followed me back out of the family room, finding a spot that wasn’t too close to Henry or Nick. I could see he still feared what might happen if they couldn’t control themselves after witnessing what Henry did to Nick back at the convenient store.